Fast Company

StartUp

Gimlet Media

No podcast better captures the thrills and struggles of launching a company. Created as a remarkably candid docuseries on the birth of podcasting business Gimlet Media, it now traces the surprising stories of other enterprises.

Sample episode: The inventor of the slap bracelet on why he made no money from the '90s fad.

Planet Money

NPR

This show--launched in 2008 to help explain the financial crisis--offers fascinating explorations of the intersection between economics and culture.

Sample episode: A look at why many Irish pubs are so similar. The answer? In the 1970s, one man defined the elements of a Dublin bar, created a kit, and sold thousands around the globe.

Working

Panoply

Each installment starts with the same question: "What is your name and what do you do?" Guests then reveal details of their jobs, whether they're a neurosurgeon, a novelist, a pollster, or a clown.

Above Avalon

A giant bite of Apple. Hosted by analyst and technology writer Neil Cybart, this show goes deep into all things Cupertino, with some of the most informed analysis you're likely to find.

Sample episode: Apple is famous for its design. So why are products like Apple Music and Apple Watch so weirdly hard to use?

Brown Ambition

Brown Ambition

Journalist Mandi Woodruff and personal-finance expert Tiffany Aliche chat about news, relationships, and other topics, but they're especially incisive when discussing their successes and failures in the business world.

Sample episode: Aliche on overcoming $300,000 in debt to build a financial-advice company.

How I Built This

NPR

This series explores backstories of various big businesses, from AOL to 1-800-GOT-JUNK. The storytelling is simple and linear, leaving space for gripping personal tales to emerge.

Sample episode: The creator of the 5-Hour Energy drink goes from Princeton dropout to Hindu monk to beverage billionaire.

Eater Upsell

Vox Media

Editors from culinary site Eater glean insight from chefs and other industry pros, both famous (Anthony Bourdain) and less so (cookbook photographer Evan Sung).

Sample episode: Wolfgang Puck explains how he built his empire, then rips into Eater's restaurant critic, who'd panned one of Puck's steak houses.

Exponent

Exponent

Tech watchers Ben Thompson and James Allworth tackle topics of the moment--fake news on Facebook, Uber's scandals--and offer broader discourse on where the digital world is headed.